AT&T thanks users with 1,000 bonus minutes for not leaving for Verizon

AT&T continues to sweeten the deal for those who stayed with the oft-criticized carrier, rather than bolting for Verizon and the Verizon iPhone (or any other Verizon device). It’s latest bonus: 1,000 bonus rollover minutes if you text “yes” to a certain number.

To get the bonus minutes, you just have to text “yes” to 11113020. Reportedly, AT&T iPhone owners are getting a text message sent to them telling them about the bonus minutes program. It seems that those without iPhones aren’t getting the SMS, but they can still participate.

That’s right, if you send a “yes” SMS from your AT&T phone to 11113020, you’ll get the above message returned, pretty quickly, despite not having the offer text sent to your phone.

AT&T is, of course, concerned that many will leave for the “most reliable” pastures of Verizon and the Verizon iPhone once their contracts expire. Verizon doesn’t have a rollover minute program, period, and it also doesn’t have the unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling that just went into effect on AT&T’s network. It does have a “Favorites” list an end user can use, with unlimited calls to those on the list.

However, Verizon does have one thing that Verizon iPhone reviewers have noticed: better call quality and less dropped calls. Ironically, for the nation’s fastest 3G network (as AT&T claims), the return SMS says it will take up to 4 weeks for the minutes to be applied.